An Adventure of Meager Proportions
by davkerrith
Summary: This vagabond cast of characters retell a recent adventure to entertain the rather intoxicated townsfolk!


"Oh there is quite the world of difference between for a soldier to do battle and an adventurer swinging a sword against some dungeon dwelling fiend," Syh began.

The crowd had gathered around the young man as he began to tell the tale of his most recent adventure into yet another get-rich adventure into a lost tomb. Of course he always spiced up the details a bit, exaggerating wounds, making a hyperbole out of the common placed monsters that often made home in them. His last encounter had been rather simple, and with the help of three of his companions had whipped the dungeon into shape. All four of them did this sort of thing for a living and knew how to make it out mostly unharmed or to leave before they were banged up to bad to leave later.

Next to him, Alyda set down a tankard of ale to quench his thirst as he told the tale, full well knowing he would probably fill it twice before he finished. Syh Ravenhawk's tales were good for business, so he tended to get his drinks for free, as long as the story was a good one.

"Now where was I?" Syh asked, his face showing a hint of delighted confusion.

"You were just discussing the difference between a warrior fighting in battle and a adventurer attacking a monster," came the sweet voice of a young, lovely brunette maiden from a table away.

"Why of course, thank you miss I should have guessed that a woman of such beauty could have a mind to match," he replied sweetly, but just enough to cause her to blush, and not cause any ruckus. "On a battlefield, though a soldier fight to win and to live, he often has brothers-in-arms nearby, whilst a treasure-entrepreneur tends to fight according to a reoccurring pattern in a confined space or against an unexpected enemy. This is quite common during such high-risk and dangerous ventures that I and my noble, brave companions often depart upon."

The man took a pause to brush his chin length, blond hair behind his ears and taking a long draught from his ale. In doing so a lock or two of hair sprung back down into his face along the left side. However, he seemed to take no notice and continued with the story.

"Of course, these admirable souls could not all be here, but let me introduce the mightiest of all warriors in all the kingdoms, Brute the Blade!" he said, standing up and waving his arm out towards the hulking man nearly half a room away at the bar counter, using two stools to support his awesome bulk of muscles. The sheer excitement at the introduction caused the crowd to burst out with applause. However, Brute, merely dismissed the uproar with a simple waving of his hand in a rather blunt, but friendly matter. "Fear not my friends, our powerful warrior is merely a modest man, who knows when to be humble and when to be bold. It seems at the moment he has chosen the prior of the two," the bard described as he returned to his seat, and another throat full of ale.

"Let me return to the tale at hand friends, of brave warriors, esoteric magicians, and a maiden as pure as fresh fallen snow and as sturdy as the toughest boulder. Our tale starts out in a community, not too far from here, known as Hillsburrow. This small town was like any other small town, it was a fair, quite, and enchanting. My brave group and I had stopped into the settlement to re-supply after a long fortnight in the North. The village was a bustle with the townsfolk going about their daily business. As we neared town, a pair of lightly armored warriors on horse back approached us from the city, stopping a dozen yards away. "

"_What business do you have in town_, they had called to us. Wherein we calmly gave our names and that we wished to rest in town and pick up a few supplies before leaving the next afternoon. With a cautious glance at us, they nodded and led us into town. Now of course, we had received such welcomes before, for when one travels armored and on horseback, one can be taken for any sort of brigand or mercenary these days. After only a few moments in town, we found a local stable where for quite a fair price we let our horses rest for the night while we dragged our saddles and gear into the Buckleberry Rest and inquired the price of three rooms for the night. With the blessings of the divines, we procured the rooms without trouble and a pair of young lads, brothers by the looks of them, helped us carry our equipment to our rooms. In the company of her Ladyship Millie of Franz and the Scarlet Sorcerer, who could not be here tonight for a great lack of rest, I did lead the trio of us to the local place of color. That night we dined on roasted sheep and drank of a fine wine, relaxing from the great undertaking we had recently accomplished."

"Brooding in his room that night, partaking in his ritual of honing the edge of his giant of a weapon after great use, Brute did rest and work alone. Though after a time, it seemed he finished and weariness did not hang on the shoulders of the giant. To fill his time until he returned, he took his leave and explored the town, which had now begun to dawdle as the townsfolk did begin return to their households and such. Though an imposing figure, Brute is quite the pleasant man and he did begin many a conversation with the men and women of the town as he strolled down one street that was lined with a garden. He found a large stone bench here and he rested his feet. It was then that he was approached by one of the town's guard that had graciously led us into town."

"_Might you be an fortune-hunter good sir,_ the man asked of him, where as he reply with a firm nod. _How is it that I might assist you_ he asked of the guard, knowing that when one asked on an adventurer something out of the ordinary needed to be done or to be learned. The watchman then relayed a unsettling rumor of why the sentries of town were on alert and approaching strangers when they came towards Hillsburrow."

It was then that he took a pause and an assuring nod was given to Syh by Brute who had at the point turned around, facing the crowd, listening to the account. During this pause, Syh also took another long draught of his ale, lightening the tankard a good deal. The crowd of patrons was on the edge of their seats, leaning into, each hoping not to miss a single morsel of the weave.

"After the guard did make his leave, Brute, in his wisdom came upon us at the tavern and brought a chair from a nearby table, joining us. Of course, by this point I had ingested a bit more wine then necessary and had a faint glow about my checks. The sorcerer, seemed none affected by the imbibed amber liquid and the Lady Millie, in he gracious judgment limited herself to only a glass or two. Then too us he relayed the rumor the watchman put forth on him. We, of course, were intrigued by the proposition of what we heard. It seems that the guard had told him of an ancient tomb close by to the town that an olden mage had been enclosed upon his death. A frightful curse was reported to fall upon any who trespassed unto the hallowed ground. It seemed that a rogue group of mercenaries had taken it on themselves to explore the ruins, which did release a dark being upon the town, plaguing the villager's dreams."

"Now, though still weary from our last adventure, we took upon this venture in hopes of ridding the fell beast from the imaginings of the townspeople, and freeing them from its tyranny of their sleeping. After a restful night of sleep, we started at noon the following day, following the simple, yet detailed map the villagers had provided for us. The map itself had a hand written message on it giving details about the place and a breakdown of the curse itself. Now of course such help was a blessing from the villagers, so we heeded to it. The curse supposedly was really three separate curses, the first being a monstrous beast that devoured those who tried to enter. The second curse was that the walls were said to come to life and crush trespassers. The final and last of the curses was a being of dark powers, which we believed to be the one haunting the nightmares of those pour innocent souls back in the village."

"If you'll excuse me, I shall return momentarily," Syh said in a cheerful voice. He had finished his tankard as he arrived to that particular part of the story, and while Alyda was filling it back up, he made use of the indoor lavatory.

During this time, the crowd had gathered around Brute, who was still at the counter, though was still facing where Syh had been sitting. Now, Brute was not really one to talk, contrary to what Syh had mentioned earlier. The fact of the matter was that was that it had been no proposition at all. If there was a word to describe Brute, that word was blunt.

"So is it all true Mr. Brute!?" several cried in unison. The look of eager anticipation in their faces caused brute to redden around the cheeks.

_Darn you Syh, you do this too ,me everytime. Where is Scarlet or Lady Millie at a time like this?_ He thought to himself. He was not as glib of tongue as Syh, but now, for appearances, he had to pretend he could.

"Of course it is so," he paused, running through his limited vocabulary to find any words that sounded elegant, "We four brave adventurers have many such stories of our… exploits," another pause coming after he finished as he knew the word 'jobs' would not make them sound quite as heroic.

As they asked more questions, he answered them the best he could, but soon it became quite clear that his way with words was affecting the crowds' perception. With great luck, Syh returned the moment the crowd began to turn.

"Let me apologize for my strong friend these many dangerous we have only recently defeated still lay heavily on his mind, inhibiting him from such noble speech as one would be accustomed to in his presence.


End file.
